<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Promise Me You Will Stay by SourwolfSeblaine</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22392616">Promise Me You Will Stay</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SourwolfSeblaine/pseuds/SourwolfSeblaine'>SourwolfSeblaine</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Glee rewrite [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Glee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Background Jeff/Nick, Dalton Academy Warblers, Dorm Rooms, Family, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, I love the ND but the Warblers definitely don't, M/M, Not New Directions friendly?, Not kurt/klaine friendly, Pining, Roommates, Season 3 rewrite, Sectionals, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Songs, The Warblers are like a family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:08:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,135</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22392616</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SourwolfSeblaine/pseuds/SourwolfSeblaine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A rewrite of Glee season 3<br/>--<br/>Instead of agreeing to leave Dalton for Kurt, Blaine decides to stay, but it costs him his relationship with Kurt. He doesn't have much time to be sad about it though, he and his new roommate, Sebastian are working together to make the Warblers win sectionals, where they're competing against the New Directions. The Warblers all seem to have a few things in common, like their dislike towards the New Directions and shipping Sebastian and Blaine. And there's this duet... they're all pretty sure it will crush the New Directions.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blaine Anderson/Sebastian Smythe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Glee rewrite [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1611760</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>144</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Promise Me You Will Stay</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A few things are different! (Aside from the obvious Blaine not choosing Kurt and McKinley).</p><p>- Instead of competing against the New Directions at Regionals, I accidentally wrote them competing against them at Sectionals... oops?<br/>- I have included some songs that might have been released after 2011? So, let's just ignore release dates for now...<br/>- Also, Sebastian never turns into a bad guy and actually talks about his emotions and is actually shown to be nice and although I tried to make him a little bit sarcastic he's still a good person who wouldn't hurt a fly. (He dreams of hurting the New Directions, but he'd never actually do it)<br/>- Cooper and Blaine have a better relationship.</p><p>Translations to the French stuff are in the notes at the end! So are the songs. I'm not great at choosing songs, so I hope you don't mind the song choices.</p><p>Hope you'll like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Blaine stares at the cup in front of him. He doesn’t dare to look up. He knows Kurt is currently frowning, upset by Blaine’s decision.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Why won’t you do this for me?” Kurt asks him, his voice a little higher than usual. Blaine knows that happens when Kurt is angry or sad.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Kurt... I need to think about myself too,” Blaine starts, not sure how to word this. His usual courage and confidence are suddenly gone. “I know you want to be together, it’s your senior year, but... I can’t transfer to McKinley. Dalton is my home. And you know what happened at my old school, I can’t risk it again.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Kurt sighs, “But McKinley is </span>
  <span>different!</span>
  <span> And the New Directions will protect </span>
  <span>you.</span>
  <span> Think about how fun it would be! We could have lunch together, sing together, we could hang out after school, perform together. You could watch me finally get some solos.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine shakes his head, “McKinley isn’t different, Kurt, and you know that. The whole reason we met was because McKinley was not a safe space for you. And that bully is back. It’s not good for me, I feel safe at Dalton. I won’t feel safe at McKinley.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You won’t do this for me?” Kurt repeats, “You’re just going to abandon me? You know we’ll be in rival Glee clubs, and that won’t be the best for my reputation. And we’ll have to compete against each other, and I don’t want you to get upset with me when the New Directions win.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine clenches his fist in frustration, crushing the napkin in his hand. The fact that Kurt doesn’t even seem to consider how Blaine is feeling. If Blaine would transfer, he’s sure his anxiety would get back, constantly feeling unsafe with so many strangers walking around, knowing they could bully him and get away without punishment. He’ll have to leave his family behind, his home, and be a part of Kurt’s club, where everyone is already Kurt’s friend. And they’ll always be Kurt’s friends, even if they would accept Blaine.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He knows them a little, and they’re not exactly kind to people who are as talented as them. They bully each other, get jealous of each other, fight and threaten to quit the club. Every week there’s at least one or two dramas happening.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He won’t be happy, even if he would be with Kurt.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>His parents aren’t happy that he’s even thinking about it. Leaving Dalton behind just for a boyfriend, they’re teenagers, there’s a chance that in a few years they won’t even be together. And he’ll be alone at a school he won’t feel safe at.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But all Kurt can think about is himself. How he’s unhappy with Blaine not leaving Dalton for him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He should’ve listened to his friends. They had warned him about this, but he always thought they just didn’t like Kurt. In the few weeks that Kurt had been a Warbler, everything had changed. Kurt had almost demanded change. And while some change was good, not everyone appreciated it. Instead of the usual happy, upbeat top 40 songs they sang, Kurt wanted more musical songs, duets. He had challenged the council’s decisions multiple times. And when they lost against the New Directions, Kurt had almost </span>
  <span>immediately</span>
  <span> transferred back.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Almost everyone at </span>
  <span>Dalon</span>
  <span> was talking about it. They saw Kurt as a traitor, trying to break the Warblers, by first changing them on the inside so they would </span>
  <span>lose</span>
  <span>. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They had also predicted that he would try to take the Warblers’ lead singer with him. And here they are. They were right after all.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine knows Kurt isn’t out to destroy the Warblers. Well... he’s 70% sure, maybe 60%.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Kurt, I’m not going to transfer schools,” Blaine repeats, “I’m sorry- Wait, no, I’m not sorry. I’m not leaving Dalton, whether you like it or not. You can’t make me leave. And I won’t allow you to try to convince me otherwise.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He looks up, Kurt’s usual shiny eyes are cold. Blaine can’t read his face, it’s almost like its expressionless. Kurt bites his lip before taking the last sip of his coffee. He slowly puts the cup down, places the napkin neatly beside it.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay then. But that also means that we’re done.” Kurt says, standing up. Without waiting for Blaine’s reaction, he walks out, the door slamming shut.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine sighs and stops himself from slamming his forehead on the table. He’s not even surprised, he knew this was a possibility, he had almost prepared himself for this. Kurt... well, Kurt placed himself as a top priority but also expected others to place him as a top priority. And if he didn’t get his way... well, he’d get stubborn and hold it against you for a long time.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He gets up too, throwing the two cups in the bin next to the door. Unlike Kurt he closes the door gently behind him and walks towards his car, already dreaming of crawling back into bed in his </span>
  <span>dorm room</span>
  <span>. </span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>When he arrives at Dalton, he’s greeted by the Warblers who are waiting at the entrance. Nick and Jeff are in front of them with hopeful smiles.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So, how did it go?” Nick asks him when Blaine walks towards them.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It went just as you guys expected. Except he didn’t catch on fire from anger.” Blaine sighs and runs his hand through his hair, making one or two curls escape the hair gel. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Nick reaches out and places his hand on Blaine’s arm, “I’m sorry that it happened this way. But... maybe it’s for the best.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe now you won’t feel guilty when we’re competing against them and beat them.” Trent says with a playful smile, “Auditions start tomorrow, we’ll get some new talented Warblers. My cousin’s girlfriend goes to McKinley and she has been keeping an eye on them last year, she says they only start practicing a few weeks before the competition, they choose their songs last minute and always have the same strategy. Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson sing a duet, they do a group number, usually Journey and then Rachel Berry gets a solo.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. We’re going to do it a little different this year.” Jeff says as they’re all walking into Dalton. There are a lot of guys running around, boxes and bags in their hands as they’re walking to the dorm rooms or helping teachers get their classrooms ready. “We know they expect us to stand and sing, but this year we’re going to focus more on dancing. The headmaster told me that we have a new student who’s going to try out for the Warblers, he’s got some experience with dancing and would probably be a great teacher. There are also a few guys from the lacrosse team who are thinking about auditioning, they’re amazing dancers but are a little insecure about singing, so they prefer to not get any solo parts.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re also going to choose songs that everyone agrees on. I know you liked ‘Candles’, but most of the Warblers didn’t like it,” Nick adds.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine shakes his head, “When I look back at that performance, I can’t help but cringe.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, no more Candles.” Jeff says.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>When they arrive at the dorm rooms, most of the Warblers say goodbye and </span>
  <span>disappear</span>
  <span> in the hallways, until it’s just Blaine, Nick and Jeff.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Now that Wes is gone, I have a new roommate,” Blaine tells them, and they stop before Blaine’s door. Their dorm room is only a few doors away.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I already miss Wes.” Nick sighs, “But he promised to still help us. He’s listening to the radio almost 24/7 to see if there are any good songs we could sing.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine laughs, “Sounds like him.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They stay silent for a few seconds, until Nick breaks it, “Are you okay? After Kurt?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been better.” Blaine shrugs, “But I’ve also been worse. I'll get over it. We weren’t that serious anyway, most of the time we just spend doing things Kurt wanted. I’m not sure what gave him the impression I wanted facials and manicures.” </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s why your nails were always so shiny?” Jeff asks him and chuckles.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll be only a few doors away if you need us.” Nick tells him, “But, uh, knock before you enter.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Believe me, I remember that after I walked into you guys the last time,” Blaine tells them and waves them goodbye. He opens his door to find that his roommate has already been there. The left side of the room, that used to be Wes’s, has a few boxes on the neatly made bed. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The bathroom door opens, and a guy he has never seen before walks out, who looks surprised to see Blaine. He has brown hair, styled in a quiff, and his eyes a mix of green and blue. He’s tall, way taller than Blaine. Oh, and he’s handsome.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The guys surprised expression turns into a friendly smile, “Oh, you scared me for a second. I’m Sebastian Smythe, I’m guessing you’re my roommate?” He holds out his hand. Blaine notices he’s trying to hide an accent.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine shakes it, “Blaine Anderson... Are you a freshman?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The smile turns into a smirk, “Do I look like a freshman?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>No. He doesn’t. Blaine shakes his head.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I transferred here.” Sebastian tells him, “From Paris.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Now it’s Blaine’s turn to look surprised, “You’re French?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian nods, “Only on my mother’s side. My dad works as a State’s attorney and wanted me to come to America, so here I am.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine gives him a smile, “Welcome to Dalton.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The next day at the last Warbler meeting before the auditions start, everyone is talking about Sebastian. It turned out that Sebastian was the guy the headmaster was talking about, an amazing dancer who had agreed to help them, if he, obviously, was allowed to join them after his audition.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What is he like as a roommate?” Trent asks Blaine, his eyes big and curious.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine </span>
  <span>shrugs</span>
  <span>, “Normal, I guess? You guys are acting like he’s royalty or something. He’s just a normal, friendly guy.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he attractive?” Nick asks, and Jeff looks betrayed at the question. “Not that I'm interested, obviously, but a handsome face won’t hurt the Warblers.” Nick adds quickly, reaching for Jeff’s hand, who looks satisfied.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone is looking at Blaine now. He sighs, “Yes, he’s attractive.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The Warblers laugh, and Blaine can’t help but join.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” He speaks up eventually, “Auditions will be after school. Since we no longer have the council, the headmaster suggested we look for a captain. Will we be choosing someone now or hold campaigns?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Blaine, isn’t it obvious?” Jeff asks him, “You’re the obvious leader here.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>A chorus of ‘Yes!’ from the Warblers agrees. Blaine can’t help but blush at all the attention, but he smiles. “Okay then. We’ll gather here right after school, don’t be late. We have twenty guys who are trying out today, thanks to Jeff convincing some boys on the lacrosse team. Bring a notebook to take some notes, and we’ll vote who has the potential and talent to join. Keep in mind that the lacrosse guys are here mostly to dance and sing in the background, and let’s be honest, we need some dancers.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The bell rings, and everyone hurries out of the room to go to their first class.</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It’s chaotic in the Warbler’s meeting room when Blaine arrives. Everyone is excited about the new year, new opportunities and the upcoming competition. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, guys, can I get your attention?” Blaine raises his voice slightly so everyone can hear him, and the room turns silent, everyone smiling at them. The couches and chairs are all pushed to the back so there’s enough room for the auditions. “I’ll hand out a list of the order of the auditions. The first audition will be in only a few minutes. Please be openminded, even if someone auditions that you may not like. Even if the song is a song you hate, only pay attention to their voice, their pronunciation, and their attitude while singing.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine gives everyone the paper with the names, and the songs they’re going to sing.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Andrew Black – We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) by Tina Turner</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Kevin Cooper – My Man by Barbra Streisand</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Victor Hale – Lullaby by Nickelback</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Hector Hale – Stayin' Alive by Bee Gees</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Ben Grey – The Cave by Mumford &amp; Sons</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Elliot Baker – Superman by Taylor Swift</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Simon Martin – Remembering Sunday by All Time Low</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Dean Messer – Ready To go (Get Me Out of My Mind) by Panic! At </span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>The</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span> Disco</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Matthew Tyler – </span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Thnks</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>fr</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>th</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Mmrs</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span> by Fall Out Boy</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Peyton Talbot – Price Tag by Jessie J</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Freddy </span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Bakhuizen</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span> – Do You Hear </span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>The</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span> People Sing from Les Miserable</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Nico Bennett – Tough Lover from Burlesque</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Gerard Silver – When I Get You Alone by Robin Thicke</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Leo Haynes – It's Not Unusual by Tom Jones</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Robin Porter – Another Love by Tom Odell</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Kai Otten – You Can’t Hurry Love by Phil Collins</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Vincent Bourne – Rebel </span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Rebel</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span> by David Bowie</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Flint Smith – Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Mattias Nickelson – Something's Coming from West Side Story</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Sebastian Smythe – </span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Papaoutai</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span> by </span>
    </em>
  </b>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span>Stromae</span>
    </em>
  </b>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The boys scan the list, and soon the auditions start. They fly by, and all the Warblers are obviously having fun. Blaine has to glare at a few to stop them from singing along with some of the songs. There are some talented guys and some that Blaine had wished he would never run into at school.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>End as last, Sebastian walks in the room. He doesn’t look nervous and places the CD of his song in the player. He does the usual introduction, and the music starts.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It’s a song no Warbler had heard of, and once Sebastian starts singing, it’s obvious why. It’s a French song. And Sebastian pronounces it perfectly, obviously, because he mentioned living in Paris. Blaine took </span>
  <span>French</span>
  <span> class and he’d kill to speak it so fluently. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian sings the song with the right emotion, but no one actually knows what he’s singing. Blaine only recognizes a few words, but not enough to know the meaning. Sebastian sounds amazing though, and at some </span>
  <span>point</span>
  <span> most of the Warblers are barely holding themselves back with dancing. Blaine can’t help but tap his foot on the floor against the beat, and he enjoys Sebastian’s performance. He wouldn’t mind seeing Sebastian sing more.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>When he’s done, the Warblers clap, some even stand up, and Sebastian’s face grows a little redder, but Blaine has no idea if he’s blushing or a little tired from the dance moves.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Sebastian.” Blaine says, standing up too, “You’ll be hearing from us to update you.” Sebastian gives them a nod and a smile before exiting the Warblers' room. Blaine turns to the Warblers, who are patiently waiting for him to speak, “Okay, thoughts?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jeff is the first one to raise his hand, and Blaine nods at him. “Sebastian’s voice is amazing, and so are his dance moves. But, can he sing in English?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I think he can.” Trent speaks up, “I caught him singing earlier today. His accent totally gone when he’s singing.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Blaine says, “Who votes for Sebastian to become part of the Warblers?” Everyone raises their hands, including Blaine. He nods and turns towards his paper of names and puts a checkmark behind Sebastian’s name. “Looks like we have ten new Warblers.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” Blaine says that night, only a few minutes after curfew, “You were asked by the headmaster to help us with our dance moves?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian looks up from the book he’s reading for English class, “Yeah, I talked to that Jeff guy and we’re going to work on the choreography together.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine grins, “This year will be amazing.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian chuckles, but doesn’t look up from his book this time, “I heard the Warblers are specifically excited to beat the New Directions.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve got </span>
  <span>a...</span>
  <span> history.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, rumor is that one of their members tried to destroy the Warblers.” Sebastian continues, “And tried to bring you with him back to Lima.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He didn’t succeed.” Blaine answers. “Because I’m still here.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>So</span>
  <span> it’s true?” Sebastian asks, looking up. His eyes locked on Blaine’s. Blaine’s heart beats a little quicker.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think Kurt was trying to destroy us. We just didn’t have that much luck last year. But yes, he wanted me to transfer schools this year. But I'm not leaving Dalton until I graduate.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I hopefully won’t either.” Sebastian responds, “I think I like it here.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“The best thing about Dalton is that you can be who you are. Gay, straight, bi, black, white... It doesn’t matter what your religion or sexuality is, you’re accepted for who you are. Public schools? Not here.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no discrimination, except against gender,” Sebastian adds.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s an </span>
  <span>all-boys</span>
  <span> school.” Blaine shrugs, “The girls go to Dalton’s sister school. But, unlike many other schools, Dalton accepts trans boys and uses the pronouns they prefer. I don’t see that happening at McKinley.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So, any other things I have to know about our fight against McKinley?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He has to think for a few seconds, “They usually have Journey songs that their director is obsessed with, the same people always sing, they don’t even compete for a solo, it’s given to them, which is something they fight over constantly. We’ve been told they pick the music only a few weeks before the competition and spend other weeks doing assignments instead of </span>
  <span>practicing</span>
  <span>.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian smirks, “Sounds easy.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh, I don’t know. Their lead singer, Rachel Berry, is really talented. She’s definitely going to be a big star in a few years.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So are you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine blushes, “You’ve never heard me sing.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I have.” Sebastian says, “I’ve seen some performances on show choir blogs that my mom showed me. You have an amazing voice, and you’re hot. So if you won’t be a star in the next ten years I’ll jump off a cliff.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine shakes his head, his cheeks heating up even more.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’re adorable when you’re getting compliments. Noted.” Sebastian smirks at him and puts his book down on the nightstand next to his bed. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Blaine says and hides his smile in his pillow.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Boys, lights out!” One of their teachers says from the others side of the door and knocks softly on it so they know he’s talking to them. Sebastian reaches for the lamp on his </span>
  <span>nightstand</span>
  <span> and gives Blane a smile before they go to sleep.</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine writes ‘song ideas’ in big bold letters on the whiteboard and turns towards the Warblers, “Any ideas?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian raises his hand.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“No French artists.” Jeff whispers to him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian turns towards him, “First of all, </span>
  <span>Stromae</span>
  <span> is Belgian, not French, and second of all, I’m not stupid, I know you all can’t nail French songs like me.” A few Warblers snicker and Jeff can’t help but snort. Sebastian turns back to Blaine, “My Dark Side by Kelly Clarkson. I heard the Warblers are a big fan of top 40 songs.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>There are a few thoughtful ‘oohs’ in the room and Blaine writes it down.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“How about we make that a duet?” Trent suggests.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what we did last year and look how that turned out.” Jeff sighs.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Nick shakes his head, “But that was Kurt. If we find someone Blaine has actual chemistry with...”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>A few Warblers laugh and Blaine rolls his eyes, “Very funny Nick.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“How about Sebastian?” One of the new Warblers, Peyton, asks.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone’s faces turn towards Sebastian, who’s looking at them with wide eyes, “Oh, I don’t know...”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s a good idea.” Blaine says, “Maybe we can practice it and see how it turns out.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian looks up at him and then nods, “Fine. But don’t expect me to look all sappy when singing it.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You looked pretty emotional singing that French song at your audition.” Jeff points out and Sebastian glares at him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine already knows they’re going to have a hilarious friendship. Jeff and </span>
  <span>Sebastian,</span>
  <span> he means, he’s not sure what his friendship with Sebastian will be like.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“We need some other songs </span>
  <span>too,</span>
  <span> we have 3 songs to perform. We now have a possible duet, but I also want a group song where multiple of us sing a solo part. Maybe something powerful and catchy. Something that will blow the judges away.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And will tell the New Directions that they have no chance at winning,” Nick adds, and a few Warblers agree.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I get it, we’re all very anti-New Directions, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We focus on us, on getting an amazing performance while still having fun.” Blaine tells them.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but when we’re going against them, we can focus on destroying them, right?” Nick asks.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine can’t help but laugh, “Fine. When we know if we’re going against them at sectionals, regionals or nationals, we can focus on ‘destroying’ them. But we’re going to stay nice. No pranks or intimidations. We’re the good guys. We follow the rules.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Boring.” Jeff whistles. Blaine raises his eyebrow, and the other Warbler sighs, “Fine, I won’t blackmail them.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you have in mind?” Sebastian asks him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jeff shrugs, “I know some people at McKinley, there’s a lot of gossip, especially about the New Directions. If I start talking now, we’ll still have this conversation at Nationals.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, back to the topic.” Blaine reminds them, “We can gossip about them later. Any other song ideas?” The room stays silent. “Fine, but bring some ideas next week. We can’t win with just one song.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Just in time the bell rings, and the Warblers get up to exit the room.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So, when do we start rehearsing?” Sebastian asks him, smirking.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine looks at his watch, “I have Science class right now, but I have a free period after that.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian nods, “Me too.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, can you meet me here?” Blaine asks. Sebastian nods and Blaine hurries out of the room, hoping he won’t be late for class. Science class is on the other side of the building.</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>When he arrives back in the Warbler’s choir room, he can see Sebastian is already there, playing a few notes on the piano.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You play?” Blaine asks him, and Sebastian quickly looks up.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, no. My grandmother tried to teach me, but I never had enough patience, too much energy. It’s why they decided I should get dancing classes instead.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine sits next to him, “I always wanted guitar lessons but my parents made me take piano lessons, and I fell in love with it. Never asked them about the guitar ever again.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Music instruments aren’t allowed, right? I think we’d </span>
  <span>definitely</span>
  <span> win if you’d play some emotional sappy song for the judges that makes them fall in love with your voice.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine’s face once again turns red, “Stop it.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop what? I’m just stating facts.” Sebastian shrugs, “You’re an amazing performer. You’re like a legend here at Dalton, I’ve had like five people tell me they were jealous I have you as a roommate.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not really used to people thinking I'm talented. Except for my family, of course. But... I don’t know, I’m used to people being jealous and annoyed at me. Kurt definitely didn’t like that I got solos last year.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian rolls his eyes, “He’s just jealous that you’re more talented than him. How many solos has he got in the New Directions? Zero. That says a lot. And people shouldn’t be annoyed at you for wanting to perform. If they are, they’re not worth your time.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine looks down and smiles, “Thanks.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian clears his throat, “So, let’s see how our voices sound together.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I found some music sheets online. Of course, if we’d sing this at sectionals the music will be a little differently, but it’s okay to use the piano now, right?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.” Sebastian says and watches him get the music sheets out of a binder in his bag. He places them on the piano and takes a few seconds before he starts playing.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The sound of the first few notes on the piano give them both chills, and only when he starts singing, Blaine realizes they never talked about who would sing what part.</span>
  
</p><p><em><span>There's a place that I know</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>It's not pretty there and few have ever gone</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>If I show it to you now</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Will it make you run away?</span></em> <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>When Blaine starts singing, Sebastian looks up with an unreadable look in his eyes. Blaine doesn’t know what it means but looks back at his fingers on the piano.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>At some point, Sebastian starts singing along, and Blaine’s heart stutters at the sound of their voices together.</span>
  
</p><p><em><span>Like a diamond</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>From black dust</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>It's hard to know</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>What can become</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>If you give up</span></em></p><p>
  <span>When they’re finished, both of them stay silent, staring at the piano. Blaine looks up, almost at the same time as Sebastian glances at him. Blaine grins at him, “We sounded incredible.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian nods, “We’re going to win, Killer.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Killer?” Blaine asks him laughing.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I’m sure you’re going to break many hearts in your life. I mean, look at those eyes.” The ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>I hope you don’t break mine</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ unspoken.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine shakes his head, not knowing how to respond, except that he’s so happy, he can’t help but laugh again, his fingers gliding over a few notes.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s kind of sad we won’t be able to use musical instruments, just our voices and the piano sounded...” Sebastian doesn’t finish his sentence, looking for a word to describe it.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Magical?” Blaine suggests.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian nods, “Sometimes I can’t think of the right way to describe something in English.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d say you could say them in French, but I’ll have no idea what you’ll be talking about.” Blaine tells him and laughs, “I recognize only a few words.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You always have Google translate.” Sebastian winks at him, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Mon </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>ange</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What does that mean?” Blaine asks him, although he knows he won’t get an answers.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“For me to know and for you to find out.” Sebastian smirks, then glances at his watch, “Oh, I have to go. I promised my French teacher to be a little early for class, she’s very interested in my stories about Paris.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine can’t help but smile when he watches Sebastian give him a little wave before leaving the practice room. His heart is still beating loudly, he hasn’t felt like this before. Singing with Sebastian felt amazing, he felt like he didn’t want to do anything else. He wanted to listen to their voices together for the rest of his life.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And Sebastian himself... there was something about him that made Blaine want to be around him more. He didn’t know Sebastian that well, they only met earlier this week, but he already knew Sebastian wasn’t one to lie. He always spoke the truth, if it was nice or not. And he’s been complimenting him so much, Blaine feels like he’s going to blow up from excitement.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sure, people told him compliments before. The Warblers sometimes acted like he was their idol, which kind of made him a little uncomfortable, and his family couldn’t shut up about his voice to their friends. But a boy... not like this. He never felt like this before. His family has to say it about him, they’re his family, but Sebastian doesn’t have to say this. And he still does. He makes Blaine feel special.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And they’ve only known each other for a week.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>No. No, it’s not going to happen again. With Kurt, he fell quickly. They barely knew each other before they started dating. And look how that turned out.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He’s not going to have a crush on Sebastian. He won’t allow himself to have a crush on Sebastian. They’re roommates! How awkward would that be if Sebastian didn’t return any feelings! And they don’t even know each other that well, maybe Sebastian has some secret dark side that loves hurting puppies. He doesn’t want to date someone who has a secret dark side that loves hurting puppies now does he? </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And just because he gives Blaine compliments, doesn’t mean he’s interested. He just thinks Blaine is a good singer. Blaine thinks Nick is a good singer too, but he’s not in love with him. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He sighs, his good mood now gone. It’s only a few more minutes before the bell will ring, and he’ll have to go to English class.</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for.” Blaine says, sitting on the desk (because why would you sit on a chair when you can sit on a desk?) He shows the Warblers The Envelope (yes, worthy of capital letters).</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>A few of them cheer, some of the new ones look around a little curious and confused.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“At sectionals, we’ll be competing against, can I have a drum roll please?” A few Warblers drum with their fingers on the tables, just like their voices, in perfect harmony. “The Trouble Tones and... The New Directions.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>There’s a silence for a few seconds before they start to cheer. Blaine is not sure if it’s healthy how much the Warblers seem to dislike McKinley’s New Direction, but he realizes that he doesn’t really care.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian looks at the paper in Blaine’s hands, “Wait, they’re both from McKinley?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine shrugs, “Looks like their new drama is a split up Glee club.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Which means more chances for us to win.” Jeff smirks, “Knowing them, they’re probably fighting over which Glee club would win and be the best, I can only imagen their faces when they both lose.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys, we’re going to stay nice.” Blaine reminds them, “But yeah, you’re right. We’re going to win this.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They cheer again, and Sebastian smirks at him, “</span>
  <span>Especially</span>
  <span> with our duet.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The Warblers get quiet, “You’re going to let us hear or what?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine laughs and walks towards the piano. When they sing the song, the Warblers all look at each other, thinking the same thing. And this time they’re not thinking about winning, </span>
  <span>bu</span>
  <span> about the chemistry that the two boys at the piano have.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And the fact that it will help them win.</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The next few weeks, they spend a lot of times practicing. Not only the singing, they have finally made a setlist, but also the dancing. Jeff and Sebastian came up with a fantastic choreography, and the Warblers seem to have a lot of fun. They practice in the gym hall, and Sebastian makes them do running laps at the lacrosse field to build their </span>
  <span>stamina</span>
  <span>.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They even had an assignment, which was really just Blaine and Sebastian having fun with teasing the Warblers, to do jumping jacks and other work out routines while singing songs.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But they’ve also all gotten closer, maybe even closer than before. Even the new ones are comfortable enough to share their secrets (Peyton has had a crush on Zac </span>
  <span>Efron</span>
  <span> since he was little, Matthew hasn’t read the Harry Potter books yet and Kai dreams of traveling the world). </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They even hung out. Sebastian had found this club that the Warblers loved, Scandals. It was a gay bar, and not every Warbler was gay, but even the straight ones enjoyed the music and the dancing.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And now, it was the day that they had all been waiting for. The Warblers... they were... well, they were a little weird. And they hold grudges against people.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Although they were mostly joking about them disliking McKinley’s Glee Clubs, but it had also been the </span>
  <span>motivation</span>
  <span> to try their best. They really wanted to beat the New Directions.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine didn’t stop them.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sectionals was held at McKinley, but Blaine felt like most competitions were held at McKinley since they had the best auditorium in their region. Well, not better than Dalton’s auditorium. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Walking in the hallways of McKinley felt weird. This is the school Kurt wanted him to go to, but it didn’t feel like a home. It didn’t even look like someone could feel like this was their home. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They were greeted by Kurt and Rachel, standing in the hallways. Kurt was wearing a white with black blazer, which was obviously the costume of the New Directions this performance (Jeff’s inside person told them this information) but Rachel wasn’t wearing it. (They were also told that Rachel Berry wasn’t able to sing with them because she broke some school rules). There really was a lot of drama at this school.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Blaine.” Kurt looks unsure of what to say, Rachel takes a quick look at the Warblers before </span>
  <span>disappearing</span>
  <span> in their choir room.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Kurt,” Blaine says awkwardly.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I... Can I talk to you? You know, in private?” Kurt asks him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Anything you want to say to me, you can say to the Warblers,” Blaine says. The Warblers had promised to support him if they ran into Kurt, to stay by his side and not let Kurt have a chance to be alone with him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He </span>
  <span>knows</span>
  <span> they were 50% looking out for him, and 50% making sure Kurt wouldn’t try to hold him hostage until he agreed to join the New Directions and give him all of </span>
  <span>Dalton’s</span>
  <span> secrets so they could make sue Dalton would never compete again.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Kurt looks taken back, “I, uh, just wanted to say good luck. May the best Glee club win.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And that will be us,” Sebastian says softly, but loud enough for everyone to hear, including Kurt.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” Kurt’s uncertain face is now replaced by his usual, stubborn one, “And who are you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“The guy who actually sounds good when singing with Blaine.” Sebastian answers.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, let’s just go,” Blaine says before anyone can say something else. While he didn’t mind the Warblers talking badly about the New Directions at Dalton, he didn’t enjoy them actually talking like that to the members of said club. “The show starts soon.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They leave before Kurt can say anything else.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The </span>
  <span>Troubletones</span>
  <span> go first, and Blaine has to admit that they were good. It made him nervous, what if they did lose? The Warblers were so excited about </span>
  <span>winning,</span>
  <span> they had made him believe that they would win.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But were they good enough? The Warblers said that the duet was definitely going to make the Judges fall in love, but it was between two guys, and usually the judges were very old school. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They had </span>
  <span>spend</span>
  <span> a lot of time on the choreography, but was it enough? Were they going to win?</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay?” Sebastian whispers to him, placing his hand on Blaine’s leg. He didn’t even know his leg was shaking.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, ‘m fine.” He mumbles back.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The teacher that is guiding them today, Mrs. Agnes who teaches French, tells them softly that they have to get ready backstage. Once they arrive there, Sebastian pulls him away from the group.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, it doesn’t matter if we win or lose.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“As long as we have fun?” Blaine finishes his sentence, having heard it many times in his life.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. We’re all a family, and we’re going to have fun and hope that it’s enough to win. But even if it won’t be enough, we’ll still be a family. We’ll still hang out, go to Scandals and watch Nick and Jeff do their weird dance on the dancefloor. Winning is just a bonus.” Sebastian tells him, placing his hands on Blaine’s face to make him look into his eyes.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The eyes that make Blaine’s knees weak.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Blaine lets out a heavy sigh.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Just breathe, stay calm, and have fun.” Sebastian reminds him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, you would be a good co-captain.” Blaine tells him, “I’ve watched you teach the Warblers some dance moves, you’re a good leader.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you asking me to be your co-captain?” Sebastian asks him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“If you want to... The Warblers love you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Then yes.” Sebastian nods, “I’ll be your co-captain.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The </span>
  <span>Troubletones</span>
  <span> are done, and Blaine’s heart starts beating louder. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” Sebastian tries to get his attention, “Look at me. You’re so talented Blaine, you’re going to make everyone fall in love with your voice. You’re going to be amazing out there.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I... thank you,” Blaine says, looking into Sebastian’s eyes. He slowly feels himself calm down, only focusing on his breathing and Sebastian’s hands on his face. “I’m ready.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the spirit.” Sebastian grins and they walk back to the Warblers, who have been watching </span>
  <span>them.</span>
  <span> They watch the lights on the stage go dark and walk towards their places.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The music starts, and Blaine feels all his nerves go away. He’s excited to perform with his friends and to have fun with them. He looks at Sebastian when the lights go on and smiles at him. He gets a big smile in return.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The first song is Blaine’s solo.</span>
  
</p><p><em><span>I can't sleep </span></em><em><span>'cause</span></em><em><span> it's burning deep inside</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Like gasoline on fire running wild</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>No more fear </span></em><em><span>'cause</span></em><em><span> I'm getting closer now</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>So unreal but I like it anyhow</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>I go faster and faster and faster and faster</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And faster and faster and faster</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>And I can't live in a fairytale of lies</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And I can't hide from the feeling </span></em><em><span>'cause</span></em><em><span> it's right</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And I go faster and faster and faster and faster for life</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>I can't live in a fairytale of lies</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>I can feel that you mesmerize my heart</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>I feel so free, I'm alive, I'm breaking out</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>I won't give in, </span></em><em><span>'cause</span></em><em><span> I'm proud of all my scars</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And I can see I've been wasting too much time</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>I go faster and faster and faster and faster</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And faster and faster and faster</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>And I can't live in a fairytale of lies</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And I can't hide from the feeling </span></em><em><span>'cause</span></em><em><span> it's right</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And I go faster and faster and faster and faster for life</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>I can't live in a fairytale of lies</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>And I can't live in a fairytale of lies</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And I can't hide from the feeling </span></em><em><span>'cause</span></em><em><span> it's right</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And I go faster and faster and faster and faster for life</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>I can't live in a fairytale of lies</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>A fairytale of lies!</span></em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Although the crowd claps, the music </span>
  <span>immediately</span>
  <span> changes into the next song, a song that makes almost all of them smile. The idea came when they were at karaoke night at Scandals, and a few of the Warblers sung it.</span>
  
</p><p><b><em><span>Nick:</span></em></b><em><span> Uptown girl</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>She's been living in her uptown world</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>I bet she never had a backstreet guy</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>I bet her mama never told her why</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>Jeff</span></em></b><em><span>: I'm </span></em><em><span>gonna</span></em><em><span> try for an uptown girl</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>She's been living in her white bread world</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>As long as anyone with hot blood can</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And now she's looking for a downtown man</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>That's what I am</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>Sebastian: </span></em></b><em><span>And when she knows what</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>She wants from her time</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And when she wakes up</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And makes up her mind</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>Nick, Jeff and Sebastian:</span></em></b><em><span> She'll see I'm not so tough</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Just because</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>I'm in love with an uptown girl</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>All</span></em></b><em><span>: You know I've seen her in her uptown world</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>She's getting tired of her high class toys</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And all her presents from her uptown boys</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>She's got a choice</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>Blaine:</span></em></b><em><span> Uptown girl</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>You know I can't afford to buy her pearls</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>But maybe someday when my ship comes in</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>She'll understand what kind of guy I've been</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And then I'll win</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>Blaine and Sebastian</span></em></b><em><span>: And when she's walking</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>She's looking so fine</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And when she's talking</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>She'll say that she's mine</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>Nick and Jeff:</span></em></b><em><span> She'll say I'm not so tough</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Just because</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>I'm in love</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>With an uptown girl</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>All:</span></em></b><em><span> She's been living in her white bread world</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>As long as anyone with hot blood can</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>And now she's looking for a downtown man</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>That's what I am</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>Uptown girl</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>She's my uptown girl</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>You know I'm in love</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>With an uptown girl</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>My uptown girl</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>You know I'm in love</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>With an uptown girl</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>My uptown girl</span></em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And now is the moment. The last song, the one everyone in Dalton had been talking about. They had found a solution to fix the no music instruments rule, they had recorded Blaine playing the song on the piano at Trent’s house, his father owns a studio.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The first notes of the piano start playing, giving Blaine chills. He looks at Sebastian, who gives him, once again, a smile. Then he starts singing.</span>
  
</p><p><b><em><span>Blaine: </span></em></b><em><span>There's a place that I know</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>It's not pretty there and few have ever gone</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>If I show it to you now</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Will it make you run away?</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>Or will you stay</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Even if it hurts</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Even if I try to push you out</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Will you return?</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>And remind me who I really am</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Please remind me who I really am</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>Both: </span></em></b><em><span>Everybody's got a dark side</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Do you love me?</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Can you love mine?</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Nobody's a picture perfect</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>But we're worth it</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>You know that we're worth it</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Will you love me?</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Even with my dark side?</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>Sebastian: </span></em></b><em><span>Like a diamond</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>From black dust</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>It's hard to know</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>What can become</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>If you give up</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>So don't give up on me</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Please remind me who I really am</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>Both: </span></em></b><em><span>Everybody's got a dark side</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Do you love me?</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Can you love mine?</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Nobody's a picture perfect</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>But we're worth it</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>You know that we're worth it</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Will you love me?</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Even with my dark side?</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>Don't run away</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Don't run away</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Just tell me that you will stay</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Promise me you will stay</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Don't run away</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Don't run away</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Just promise me you will stay</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Promise me you will stay</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>Will you love me?</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<em><span>Everybody's got a dark side</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Do you love me?</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Can you love mine?</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Nobody's a picture perfect</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>But we're worth it</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>You know that we're worth it</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Will you love me?</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Even with my dark side?</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>Blaine: </span></em></b><em><span>Don't run away</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Don't run away</span></em> <br/>
 <br/>
<b><em><span>Sebastian: </span></em></b><em><span>Don't run away</span></em> <br/>
<em><span>Promise you'll stay</span></em></p><p>
  <span>When they’re finished, Blaine feels like he can suddenly breathe again, he laughs along with the other Warblers when the crows </span>
  <span>claps</span>
  <span> for them. He feels Sebastian’s hand holding his when he pulls him off the stage.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It went amazing!” Jeff cheers.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn it, guys, you made me cry!” Trent sighs before hugging Blaine. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine feels his body almost shake with adrenaline. He feels like he can run a marathon, jump in the sky and scream. They were amazing, the crowd was amazing. He suddenly had his confidence back, and it felt awesome.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They’re </span>
  <span>led</span>
  <span> back to their seats, and Blaine doesn’t let go of Sebastian’s hand. Neither of them </span>
  <span>say</span>
  <span> something about it. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The New Directions perform, but without their Cheerios and Rachel Berry, they sound different than usual. They’re still good though, and sing three Michael Jackson songs. It looks like some of the people who usually sang in the back now got a chance to sing too. But it was also obvious they had to bribe some of the band members to dance along because they didn’t seem part of the group.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And a few moments later, they were back on stage, along with the </span>
  <span>Troubletones</span>
  <span> and New Directions. Blaine feels Sebastian’s hand on his back, they’re all standing close to each other, arms around each other’s shoulders. And this time, it was </span>
  <span>obvious</span>
  <span> that everyone was nervous. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“The third place goes too...” One of the judges announces.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine’s heart beats loudly, waiting for what the judge will say. If he says ‘The Warblers’, he knows his heart will sink. </span>
  <span>Of course</span>
  <span> winning isn’t important, but his Warblers deserve it.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Please, not be the Warblers.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Please.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Please.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“The </span>
  <span>Troubletones</span>
  <span>.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The crowd cheers, but the </span>
  <span>Troubletones</span>
  <span> don’t look pleased when they’re handed the third-place trophy and leave the stage.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And now, the moment everyone is waiting for.” The judge says. “First place.” He takes a lot of time opening the envelope with the answer, looking at it for a few moments before looking at each glee club and the crowd.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Goes to...”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine feels like he’s going to faint. Or throw up... He’s going to faint</span>
  <em>
    <span> and</span>
  </em>
  <span> throw up. He doesn’t know why they always have to go on for so long. It only makes people even more nervous.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“The Dalton Acadamy Warblers.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Once again, he can breathe. As the confetti falls down the stage, and his friends pull him in hugs, he can breathe. And he can laugh.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you everything would be fine!” Sebastian yells above the cheering, pulling him in a hug. Blaine decides he loves the feeling of Sebastian’s arms around him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He also doesn’t want to ever let go. But he has, to receive the trophy and shake hands with Mr. </span>
  <span>Schuester</span>
  <span>, who looks </span>
  <span>devastated</span>
  <span>, along with his students.</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They decide to celebrate at Scandals, some Warblers not even taking off their blazers this time, proud to be wearing it.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Speech, speech!” They cheer once Sebastian paid for their first round of drinks.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay.” Blaine laughs “Guys, this is only sectionals, we’re still going to have regionals, and then we’re obviously going to nationals because we’re unstoppable.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They cheer.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You were all amazing tonight. Your dancing and singing convinced not only the crowd, but also the judges, that we were the best. But I already knew we were. Even if we wouldn’t win, you guys would always be the best in my opinion. We’re a family, and let’s celebrate tonight. To the Warblers!”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Even some of the other customers, already drunk, cheer with them, and a big part of the group moves to the dancefloor.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine stays by Sebastian’s side.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So, we achieved our goal.” Blaine smiles at him, “We ‘crushed’ our ‘enemies’.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian laughs, and Blaine’s heart stutters at the sight of Sebastian being truly happy. No sign of him hiding his emotions. “Yeah, we did!” Sebastian letting down his guard + having drank a little bit of alcohol apparently equals Sebastian not hiding his accent that well.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Not that Blaine minds, he thinks it’s hot.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Aaaaand</span>
  <span> that’s the alcohol talking. His friends were right when they told him he’s a lightweight.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Dance with me,” Sebastian says to him, dragging him to the dancefloor. Blaine laughs and lets his body move to the beat, staring in Sebastian’s eyes.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian’s arms are around him as they dance, moving closer than Blaine has ever been to someone. Some moments he can feel Sebastian’s breath on his face. It makes him feel alive. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Blaine!” a voice sounds over the music. But it’s not Sebastian’s.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He opens his eyes and sees Kurt, who’s looking around, disgusted as some sweaty guys get close to him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want?!’ Blaine yells over the music, and he feels Sebastian’s arm around his waist tighten. One would say in a possessive way, but that’s not the case. Because they’re not together. Sebastian just feels protective of him because of the stories he heard about Kurt.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we talk? Alone?” Kurt looks extremely uncomfortable. And Blaine feels mean for enjoying it for a few seconds. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” He decides. Maybe if he agrees now, Kurt will leave him alone. If he’d say no, Kurt might bother him for the rest of the school year until he gets his way.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It almost looks like Kurt sends an accomplished smirk towards Sebastian, who hesitates before letting go of Blaine. He follows Kurt through the back door when he looks over his </span>
  <span>shoulder</span>
  <span> he sees Sebastian talking to a few other Warblers who send him worried glances.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want to talk about?” Blaine asks him when they’re outside. He’s suddenly a little cold, without the heat of the dancing bodies around him and the feeling of Sebastian’s hands on his skin.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanted to apologize,” Kurt tells him, staring at the ground. “I shouldn’t have just left you at the Lima Bean. It was stupid of me to break up with you just because you didn’t want to go to the New Directions. I get it, the Warblers are your family, just like the New Directions are mine.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine is a little surprised, he hadn’t expected Kurt to apologize to him. “Uh, thank you? You’re forgiven, I guess?” He’s not exactly sure.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Kurt looks relieved, “I hope we can... Can we go back to how we were before? The different schools </span>
  <span>don’t</span>
  <span> have to be an issue, I love you and I want to be with you, even if you’re at a different school.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, nope. No, this isn’t happening.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Kurt,” Blaine says and holds up a hand to make him stop walking closer towards him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Kurt’s voice breaks.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I... I’m not in love with you. I’m not sure if I ever was, because after our break up, I wasn’t as sad as I was supposed to be. And... I don’t want to be with you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It's that new guy, isn’t it.” Kurt’s eyes once again look cold as he spats out the name as if it’s some kind of disease, “Sebastian?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine sighs, “It’s not because of Sebastian. It’s because of me. I don’t want to be with you, Kurt. I’ve been happier these past few weeks than I’ve been when I was with you. It doesn’t matter if I like someone else or not.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“But...”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going back inside,” Blaine tells him, walking towards the door.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t do this, Blaine! You can’t break my heart like this. I won’t let </span>
  <span>you,</span>
  <span> this isn’t over. You’re going to regret this. That Sebastian guy will break your heart, and you’ll realize I was the only one who really loved you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine shakes his head, “No, Kurt. The only person you love is you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He lets the door slam closed behind him and is greeted by the loud music. He feels the alcohol and adrenaline running through his veins as he walks back towards Sebastian.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“How did it go?” Sebastian asks him, looking worried. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Blaine answers.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You want to talk about it?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian stays silent for a few seconds, “You want me to buy you a drink?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, please.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Dalton is silent when they’re back, almost everyone is asleep, and even the drunk Warblers know to stay quiet. Neither Blaine and Sebastian are drunk, only a little tipsy. Blaine quietly says goodbye to Nick who’s carrying a drunk Jeff back to their dorm room. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian holds the door open for him, and they both stay silent as they get ready for bed. Sebastian just pulls his clothes off until he’s only in his boxers. Blaine grabs sweatpants from his closet and quickly changes, the alcohol making sure he’s not feeling as insecure as usual.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you made a </span>
  <span>good</span>
  <span> decision.” Sebastian breaks the silence when Blaine crawls under the covers of his own bed.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What decision?” Blaine asks him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Not getting back together with Kurt.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it was an easy decision to make. I’m not interested to be with him.” Blaine answers, staring at the ceiling.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They both stay silent for a few more minutes. This time Blaine breaks the silence, “Were your parents at the performance?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian hesitates before he responds, “No.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Are they waiting for regionals or nationals?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“No. My mom... She can’t leave France. She works a lot, but she always sends me </span>
  <span>text</span>
  <span> messages to let me know she’s proud and supports me.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And your dad?” Blaine asks, he’s not sure if he should be asking. Sebastian only mentioned his dad once, saying that his dad wanted him to go to a school in America.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He...” Sebastian sighs and Blaine can hear him turn around, “He’s not exactly winning any dad of the year prizes. He doesn’t really care about me, I think. He hasn’t been around much in my childhood. It was just me and my mother, and he’d sometimes visit a week in the summer. I was surprised when he said he wanted me to go to school in America. I expected that he wanted to get to know me, but the first day he set me off at Dalton and showed me the dorm rooms, I haven’t really talked to him since.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Blaine says softly.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you Americans always say it like that? It’s not like it’s your fault.” Sebastian sighs again. “What about your parents?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“My mother was there, but she had to leave quickly to go back to work. My dad only comes to nationals because my mother makes him go. He hasn’t been the same since... well, I’m not sure if anyone told you this, not a lot of people know this, but... I guess I can trust you with this.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You can trust me with everything, Blaine.” Sebastian answers.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Before I went to Dalton, I went to Westerville’s public school. I was one of the two only openly gay kids, and I got bullied. A lot. There was this dance, a Sadie Hawkins dance, and me and my friend when together because we both didn’t have a date. But everyone stared at us, and it wasn’t fun, so he called his dad. We were waiting outside and...”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine has to take a few deep breaths. He hears movement and suddenly feels Sebastian’s hand grab his, “Move over, we’re going to cuddle.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine chuckles, even though he feels tears burning in his eyes, and he moves over. He only continues talking when Sebastian’s arms wrap around him, and his head rests on Sebastian’s chest. “They beat us with an iron stick that they found, one of them had a bat. They didn’t stop until my friend’s father arrived, but by then we were already unconscious. My friend... his wounds were too much. He had broken ribs and something with his lungs... He didn’t make it. He died in the hospital, almost at the same time as I woke up.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian’s hand is soft and warm on his back, his thumb rubbing circles on his skin, it makes Blaine relax.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“My dad... he was so scared. He hasn’t been able to look at me ever since, because whenever he does... he sees that broken boy in the hospital bed.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Blaine,” Sebastian whispers, and Blaine feels his lips on his curls. They both stay silent, and they hold each other until they fall asleep.</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine only lets the Warblers celebrate their victory for a week, but then he and Sebastian make them work harder than before, with an extra dance practice on Saturday morning. They’re not exactly happy with that, but they don’t complain.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But the extreme motivation to beat the New Directions is now gone. Some even got a little lazy and didn’t show up for some rehearsals. Until Sebastian talked to them. Blaine has no idea what he said, but those guys are now working even harder than the others.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully Blaine hadn’t heard anything from the New Directions. He had kind of feared that they would help Kurt serenade him or something, but it hasn’t happened yet, and he hopes it won’t happen in the future.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Things between him and Sebastian... they’re complicated. They’ve gotten closer too, coming up with songs and dance moves together. They’ve also talked a lot about their personal lives, Blaine found out Sebastian has two younger siblings, a sister named Juliette and a brother named Jean-Paul, but everyone calls him JP. He also found out Sebastian came out when he was only eleven years old, and his mother was very accepting. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But,</span>
  <span> there hasn’t been anything more than a friendship between them. Even though Blaine had definitely broken his own rule. Sebastian made him feel things he had never felt before. He felt like he couldn’t breathe until he saw Sebastian waiting for him in the hallways after class. He didn’t like it when they couldn’t hang out or talk much because of their homework, and winter break had been tough. He had texted with Sebastian almost every night, even though the time difference between Ohio and Paris was exhausting.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>After the day of sectionals, they hadn’t held hands or cuddles again. They had only hugged a few times. But Blaine longed to grab Sebastian’s hand when they were walking to the Warbler’s meeting room together. And when he saw Sebastian lounging on his bed, he wanted to curl up beside him and rest his head on his chest, listening to Sebastian’s heartbeat.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But,</span>
  <span> it could’ve been worse. Sebastian didn’t get into a relationship. Even though Blaine wanted Sebastian to be happy, and he deserved a boyfriend who loves him, he couldn’t survive watching Sebastian fall in love with someone else.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And that felt selfish.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Regionals came quickly, and they won. And now they were going to Chicago in only a few weeks for Nationals.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And Blaine had a plan.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Nick, can you lock the door?” Blaine asks once everyone’s inside. Nick nods and quickly makes sure no one can interrupt them.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Sebastian?” Jeff asks, who has become one of Sebastian’s good friends.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“He doesn’t know we’re here, and he’s not allowed to know. I asked Ms. Agnes to distract him after French class. I want to surprise him. As you may know, Sebastian’s mother and siblings still live in France, and they don’t have the money to come to America. I talked to my parents, and, well, they’re family people. They wanted to help, and ask you and your parents to help too, so we can buy three tickets for them to Chicago. You obviously don’t have to, but it would be nice if all of you helped. I mean, we’re at Dalton, an expensive private school, I’m pretty sure your parents won’t mind.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The Warblers stay silent.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“No pressure, though.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s an amazing idea.” Jeff says, “My parents love Seb, I’m pretty sure they’ll help.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Mine would help </span>
  <span>too,</span>
  <span> family is the most important thing to them,” Trent answers, and slowly almost every Warbler agrees.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Sebastian is going to be so happy!”</span>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p> <br/>
<span>“What is it?” Sebastian asks him when they’re on the bus towards the airport. They’re sitting together somewhere in the back of the bus. It’s chaotic, the Warblers are all excited and talking about what Chicago would be like.</span></p><p>
  <span>“Nothing,” Blaine answers, checking his phone again, he still doesn’t have a message from Cooper if Ms. Smythe has arrived yet.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He can already imagine her arrival. Cooper standing there with a dramatic sign that says ‘Ms. Smythe, Juliette and JP’.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You keep checking your phone.” Sebastian points out.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“My brother was going to text when he arrived at the airport.” That’s only a lie for 50%. He didn’t like lying, but he also didn’t want to ruin the surprise.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Sebastian answers, “I thought something happened. You've been acting strange lately.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just nervous... I’ve never won nationals before.” Blaine tells him, and he stares outside, “I’ve never even been to nationals.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we’re going to kill it,” Sebastian says, placing his hand on </span>
  <span>Blaine’s</span>
  <span> leg like he did at sectionals.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine looks up at him, “I know.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the ride is filled with nervous and excited chatter. Blaine and Sebastian talk about what they’ll do after nationals. It’s already been a year, and the school year is almost over. Sebastian tells him he’s thinking about going to France for a few weeks, and how he wished Blaine could come with him so he could show his favorite spots.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine has no idea what he’ll do all summer, maybe get a summer job or beg his parents to let him come with Sebastian to France. Maybe he’ll even visit Cooper in LA.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He also got Cooper’s text. Ms. Smythe and her children have arrived and are currently in their hotel room.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Ooooh</span>
  <span>, he can’t wait until he sees </span>
  <span>Sebastian’s</span>
  <span> face when he sees them. He made the Warblers promise that they wouldn’t tell others if Sebastian would start crying.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He also got a few </span>
  <span>texts</span>
  <span> from old Warblers, who were going to support their old glee club. Blaine heard something about matching shirts that looked like </span>
  <span>Dalton</span>
  <span> blazers. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The flight towards Chicago was quick, and before he knew it, Blaine was standing in his shared hotel room with Sebastian.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Look at that view. I didn’t know America could be beautiful too.” Sebastian says from the window.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine’s phone buzzes and he sees a message from Trent, ‘we’re all ready’.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, the Warblers are getting together downstairs in the lobby, are you coming?” Blaine asks him, and for a second he’s afraid Sebastian would say no.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, sure.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The walk downstairs feels longer than their car ride and flight combined. He opens the door for Sebastian and sees a kind-looking woman standing with the Warblers, a young girl hiding behind her leg, and a young boy sitting on a chair, eating a </span>
  <span>chocolate</span>
  <span> cookie.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Maman</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Sebastian sounds shocked.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Sebastian!” Her voice is as gentle as her son’s and she opens her arms for him. Blaine decides he likes the way people say Sebastian’s name with a French accent.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian says something in French that Blaine doesn’t understand, and his mother responds, also in French. He can hear his own name along with Ms. Agnes and the headmaster’s.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian turns around to look at Blaine, tears in his eyes as he walks towards him. “Thank you.” Blaine is pulled in a hug, and he buries his head in Sebastian’s shirt with a smile.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>When he lets go of Blaine, he turns back towards his mother for another hug. Blaine feels a hand on his shoulder, “Proud of you, little brother.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine smiles, “Thanks. Everyone deserves to be with their family.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, you’re a cute couple.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine turns around, “We’re not a couple.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Cooper looks surprised, “You sure.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I’m pretty sure that I know who I’m dating. Which is no one. I’m single.” Blaine answers.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Cooper raises his hands, “Sorry, it’s just the way everyone talked about you two, I thought you were dating. I’m kind of relieved though, not that I don’t want you dating Sebastian, but I was sad you didn’t tell me.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine stays silent for a few seconds, “If I’ll ever date someone, you’ll be the first to know.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Cooper chuckles, “Deal.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, guys.” Ms. Agnes gets their attention, she’s once again one of the teachers to be their guardian at the competition since they don’t have a director. “Let’s all officially welcome Madame Smythe, Juliette, and JP. We're so happy you could join us, we’ve all worked pretty hard to keep it a secret from Sebastian, who probably almost found out about it twice because he’s so damn curious.” Everyone laughs and nods, Sebastian just shrugs. “And now, it’s the last time that you guys can practice, in a few minutes you’ll be expected to be on the stage for a soundcheck. And then we’ll only have a few hours before the big competition. Nationals!”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The whole room cheers and Blaine feels so incredibly happy looking around. Sebastian laughing with his sister in his arms, Nick, Jeff and the others cheering, some doing their weird happy dance, and Cooper next to him, clapping along.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He’s so happy he didn’t leave Dalton.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Their last rehearsal is going great, the Warblers sang as they had never before. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The few hours between their last rehearsal and the competition felt like a century. Everyone was too nervous </span>
  <span>to</span>
  <span> eat, but Ms. Agnes told them they weren’t allowed to perform if they didn’t eat, for health reasons. Blaine could barely swallow the few pieces of his sandwich. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Some practiced in their rooms, you could hear different voices in the hallways. Some took a nap, and some were pacing nervously until their roommate got annoyed and threw a pillow at them (this happened in Blaine and Sebastian’s room.)</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And then it was time. They were actually standing there, backstage, warming up their vocals for the millionth time. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And this time, Sebastian was the nervous one.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, sit down,” Blaine says to his softly and pulls Sebastian next to him on the ground, they’re sitting with their backs against the wall, watching everyone run around. Blaine grabs his hand and squeezes softly, “It will be okay.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“But it’s not sectionals, Blaine. It’s nationals! The most important competition. And my mom is out there... I want to make her proud.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian’s mother is currently sitting in the crowd with Cooper and Blaine’s parents.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s already proud of you Sebastian. Even if we get last place, which we won’t, she’ll be proud of you that you even accomplished Nationals. Hell, she’s already proud that you’re part of the Warblers, co-captain of the Warblers. And the competition won’t change that.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian surprised him by resting his head on Blaine’s shoulder, “It’s just... It’s the only competition she’ll probably see.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it won’t. Because even if she won’t be able to come, we’ll film everything, of video chat</span>
  <span> with her. It won’t be the same, but she’ll still watch you. And just because she won’t be there, doesn’t mean it won’t count.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” Sebastian tells him, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Mille merci, mon ange.”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine’s smile widens, “I looked up the meaning.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah?” Sebastian looks up at him, his face is so close Blaine can heel his breath.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It means ‘my angel’.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you sing and look like an angel,” Sebastian explains.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Blaine decides to be brave. To do something he has wanted to do for months. He places his hand on Sebastian’s cheek and kisses him. It’s slow and soft, but once Sebastian is no longer surprised, he kisses back full passion. Their lips move against each other, and Sebastian holds onto him as if he’s afraid Blaine will get up and leave him. Blaine holds onto Sebastian to make sure he knows he’s not going anywhere.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Except for the stage. In a few minutes.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve waited for you to do that for so long,” Sebastian whispers against his lips when they break apart.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you make the first move yourself?” Blaine asks him.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian looks down at his hands, “I wasn’t sure if you really wanted it. I’ve never been in a relationship before, not a serious one. I didn’t want us to have a not serious relationship that would change the whole Warblers’ dynamic.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Blaine sighs, ”I’ve been crushing on you since I first laid my eyes on you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian looks relieved, “Good. Because I’ve been in love with you ever since we first sang our duet together.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys, I hate to break up this moment that literally everyone has been waiting for, seriously, kudos to you guys finally getting together, but we have to go on stage in less than a minute!” Nick says to them, his hands on his hips.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian turns to Blaine, “Let’s go.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They didn’t win first place, but they did go home with a second-place trophy and a promise to get first place next year.</span>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Some translations:<br/>Papaoutai: a malapropism of Papa où t'es, "Dad, where are you?"<br/>Mon ange: My angel<br/>Maman - Mom<br/>Mille merci - "thanks a million"</p><p>Songs:<br/>My Dark Side - Kelly Clarkson<br/>Faster - Within Temptation<br/>Uptown Girl - Billy Joel</p><p>I am planning on writing a season 4 rewrite, who continues after this. (And maybe even a season 5 and 6 rewrites... I'm also thinking about writing about their summer in Paris.</p><p>Hope you liked it!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>